Pearl Jam – Vs.

I bought this pressing about 10 years ago because I love the album — but honestly, I was really disappointed with the dynamics and the overall muddy mix. Based on a recommendation from a reviewer here, I decided to try the 1993 edition (if you can afford it, of course), and the difference is massive. Comparing the two pressings really highlights just how poor this one is — I mean, it’s seriously bad.

If the '93 edition is out of your budget, the CD version is a solid compromise. Brendan O’Brien put a lot of care into these tracks, and this album deserves to be heard the way it was meant to sound.

sounds great! United Record Pressing is very reliable and i have no issues with them! and this is actually my #1 favorite press by them! I just love its cardboard smell, its packaging, and its strong thick feel! 10 out of 10!

It is both sad and somewhat disturbing that someone printed a sticker that reads, “Audiophile Pressing; Newly Remastered for vinyl”, listened to this finished product and decided, “Yep, let’s go with it” And here I was assuming Pearl Jam both understands and knows vinyl (Spin the Black Circle), and yet — they approved this?

so many clicks and pops on this record. i cleaned it right out of the sleeve, brand new. just can’t get rid of the pops. REALLY REALLY annoying. maybe i’ll try cleaning it again.

the dynamics are pretty bad too. not really enjoying this one. audiophile quality? i think not. everything is smashed to the front.

and no, i don’t have a suitcase turntable.

edit:
i just cleaned the record again. gave it another listen. this is seriously a TERRIBLE pressing. not only does it click and pop through the whole record, the soundstage is awful. it’s so fatiguing on the ears. way too much high end as well.

definitely will be getting rid of this one when i find a better pressing. how this is sold as audiophile quality is awful.

might be one of the worst sounding records i’ve picked up in years.

Cut incredibly poorly. Bad pressing.. noisy AF, slightly warped. Most definitely not audiophile quality. A few interesting moments, the very clear acoustic guitar on daughter. Mostly disappointing, Every time I upgrade my rig I pull it again to of course be crushed by this subpar pressing of a phenomenal record.

Heard some noise and popping leading into Go. I cleaned the record and the stylus with audio technica products. Can still hear some minor pops. Still have to listen to the rest, but it is definitely noisy inbetween songs. Not the 2015 release, def 2011 according to the print in the dead wax. Have cleaned several times and still hear pops here and there. I will edit how I feel after a deep clean. I am going to return this one, my friend thinks I got sold a used record and the pressing looks terrible!.

I don't know what everyone is complaining about. My copy plays flawlessly with the exception of a little bit of sibilance on Elderly Woman. Although, I haven't properly checked the alignment of my cartridge, so that could possibly be eliminated with some fine tuning. The pressing is among the cleanest and most flat in my collection. It's not the most quiet, but it doesn't matter because the music drowns out the surface noise completely.

Some minor static is revealed in the quiet parts of Indifference but it is the middle of winter, and I don't have any static elimination tools. Vinyl playback is high maintenance, if you want a superior experience you gotta put in the work, and invest some cash in a half decent system. I question some of the reviews on this platform, like the "it's too quiet" complaint. Use the volume knob on your amp. The biggest advantage that loud rock records pressed to wax have, is you can crank the volume and they don't distort nearly as much as their digital counterparts.

It wouldn't surprise me if some of these reviewers didn't check the dead wax and are commenting on the 2015 repress.

The record should’ve been split into two LPs…..

To echo what others have said there is surface noise galore (WAY more than other records in my collection)

Pops are prevalent as well.

The mix is very inconsistent from song to song. When it gets loud you don’t notice the surface noise as well but it is lacking dynamics as well for the most part.

I hope this album gets a MOV press

Album is 5 stars. Pressing barely 4 stars (feeling generous). The pressing is typical of United, ok but not great, little surface noise and slight mis-alignment. Depending on your setup it may be muddy initially but with some tweaking of tone controls on your amp it can be cleaned up. If you have these controls this might help:
Loudness switch: On
Treble: +3
Bass: 0

Mostly just have to roll off the bass and increase the treble a bit and it cleans up decent.

I'm wondering if I have the correct version for this listing, because my copy sounds great and no warp. Matrix matched. I don't get it. I feel for those who got bad copies though. I guess it's hit or miss with the quality control these days.